The sponsorship of temporary, nonimmigrant work visas and U.S. permanent residence can be a tremendous lure for U.S. employers to attract and retain foreign talent— but it comes with a large price tag. Is a U.S. employer...more
9/9/2024
/ Adjustment of Status ,
Clawbacks ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Lawful Permanent Residents ,
PERM ,
Sponsors ,
Visas
On June 20, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the extension of validity of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs or work permits) issued to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries...more
6/28/2024
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
El Salvador ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Honduras ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Nepal ,
Nicaragua ,
Sudan ,
Temporary Protected Status ,
USCIS
We would like to share the following recent U.S. immigration-related updates announced by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in April 2024. Automatic Extension of EAD Cards From 180 Days to 540 Days ...more
On April 1, 2024, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had reached the annual quota of 85,000 cap beneficiaries in the initial registration period for employment in FY 2025. USCIS has...more
On October 26, 2023, a temporary rule allowing certain eligible applicants for employment authorization documents (EADs) to automatically extend their EADs for 540 days will expire. EAD applicants who file Form I-765...more
Employers are required to use the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) to verify the identity and employment authorization for...more
8/7/2023
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on July 27 that it will conduct a second round of random selections from the previously submitted FY 2024 H-1B pre-registrations. These pre-registration requests...more
On July 16, 2023, the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) enacted a new immigration program aimed exclusively at U.S. H-1B visa holders. The program announced that the annual cap of 10,000 applications had...more
Now that summer has begun, the Department of Homeland Security, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and ICE have all issued several significant updates, relating to the expansion of premium processing...more
On May 10, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1718, which significantly impacts employers with operations in Florida. All U.S. employers, public and private, with over 25 employees in Florida must properly...more
On March 27, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has selected sufficient H-1B Visa Petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 regular cap (bachelor’s degree cap) and 20,000...more
Over the past week, USCIS has issued several updates including the expansion of premium processing services and bundling of H-1B and L-1 Visa spouses requests.
USCIS Announces the Expansion of Premium Processing Services...more
Recent massive layoffs and hiring freezes announced by major technology companies, coupled with fears of an imminent recession in the U.S. have significantly impacted workers and raised concerns among many currently employed...more
Starting on November 1, 2022, employers verifying their employees’ identity and employment authorization eligibility must use the new I-9 Form version....more
On August 23, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has selected sufficient H-1B Visa Petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 regular cap and 20,000 U.S. advanced degree...more
Consistent with its goal of removing barriers to legal immigration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued guidance and launched initiatives related to individuals in the science, technology,...more
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) instituted temporary accommodations governing the renewal of documents for Form I-9 purposes relating to employment authorization in all work...more
On January 28, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the registration dates for FY 2023 H-1B cap filings with the agency. Filing submission dates are March 1, 2022, at 12 p.m. ET and the registration...more
Background-
The H-1B nonimmigrant visa is one of the most highly utilized and sought-after temporary work visas and facilitates the employment of foreign nationals entering the United States to perform employment in...more
On December 23, 2021, the U.S. Department of State announced that it will temporarily suspend in-person interviews for some nonimmigrant visa classifications in order to expedite visa issuance as the pandemic heads into its...more
On November 19, U.S. Citizenship Services (USCIS) announced it had completed a third H-1B lottery selection for the fiscal year 2022 cap. This is the third H-1B lottery selection this year. USCIS allows for 85,000 H1-B...more
11/23/2021
/ Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Fees ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Lottery ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is expected to release new guidelines for employment authorization which will affect H-4 and L-2 spouses resulting from a settlement agreement reached in a federal court...more
On October 19, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Justice (DOJ) settled with Facebook over its alleged discrimination against U.S. workers relating to the manner it conducted recruitment under the permanent...more
11/5/2021
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Discrimination ,
Facebook ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) ,
PERM ,
Recruitment Policies ,
USCIS
Congress has mandated that in a given calendar year, 140,000 employment-based green cards will be awarded to companies sponsoring foreign nationals for permanent employment in the United States. This mandate is effective on...more
8/26/2021
/ EB-1 ,
EB-2 ,
EB-3 ,
EB-4 ,
EB-5 ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Green Cards ,
Immigrants ,
Popular ,
Visas
On April 27, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated the USCIS Policy Manual in a Policy Alert to reinstate its policy of giving deference to prior determinations when adjudicating extension-of-stay...more